We've Got History
by McGarrettIsMine
Summary: When a school trip goes horribly wrong, Five-0 are forced to help. The traumatic events that unfold eventually lead up to the meeting between Commander McGarrett and Monica Francis. They soon discover both of their families have crossed paths — and a quite bloody one — before... Question is, what's the history they share? And what's her sister hiding? — Steve/Monica.
1. Chapter 1

**First of all, welcome to my new story. This story idea has been roaming in my head for awhile and I'm interested to see where it goes.**

 **I have two important things to say before you continue: 1) Although I've seen pretty much all the Hawaii Five-0 episodes (I am currently on Season 6), I don't feel like I am a total expert when it comes to the show and the character's histories. I feel like I know enough, though. If you do happen to stumble upon some kind of mistake, please kindly tell me! 2) Since this is a cop show, you may be used to hearing lots of different terms that are very specific to the cop field, including acronyms and whatnot. I feel like researching won't be enough and I'm afraid I'll make silly mistakes, so when it comes to those police moments (interrogations, interviews, and police chat in general), I may sound a little vague, but I'll try not to.**

 **Also, I'm not planning on following this story through a specific season.**

 **Anyway, I think that this is it for now. Onto the story!**

* * *

"You will _not_ believe what Grace asked me to do this morning just before she went to school," Danny started, looking over at Steve and noticing his rather concentrated face on the road ahead.

"Wait, let me guess." Steve held one hand up, stopping his partner from continuing. "She finally told you to remove that ridiculous tie of yours?" A playful smirk tugged at Steve's lips once he saw Danny's face, clearly offended.

"One, my ties are not ridiculous, okay?" Danny began. "And two, no, that's not what she asked. Actually, it was worse."

Danny fidgeted slightly, clearly feeling a little uncomfortable. Anything that involved Grace always turned Danny into some huge mommy bear who would walk through tornados to do everything possible to protect its cubs from danger. At times, it was rather humorous for Steve, and others, a little annoying. However, Steve was genuinely curious to know what had happened earlier that morning. After a curt silence, Steve finally said, "Well? What was it?"

Clasping his hands together, the blonde cop finally spoke up. "Well, Grace wanted me to go shopping with her," he explained rather slowly, adding in a few hand gestures, as per usual.

"And? She's a girl, it's what girls do, Danny, it's perfectly normal," Steve reassured, his brows furrowed together.

"She wanted to buy a birthday present for her 'friend'," the Jersey cop added a hint of sarcasm to the word 'friend', utilizing air quotes to further prove his point.

By now, Steve was already picturing what was bothering Danny, but he decided to stay quiet a little longer and prod him more. "Still sounds normal to me."

"Yeah, well, me too, until I found out the friend she was talking about doesn't wear cute skirts or play with barbies! And he's a year older than her. What is she doing speaking to the older kids? She wants me to buy a present for her friend Joshua! Or whatever it was." Danny huffed.

Steve tried his best to hold in the smirk.

"What, you think this is funny, huh, Steve?" Danny retorted, a little annoyed.

"No, I just think you've got the 'overprotective-dad-sickness' all over again."

"Over — Overprotective-dad-sickness?" Danny repeated, sounding almost aloof. "This Joshua clearly wants to get into her pants — which by the way, I'm not gonna' let happen — and she talks about him like... like he's..."

"Look, Danno, I don't think that he wants to get into her pants. It's perfectly normal for her to talk to boys. She's going to get married one day, have kids, have a family. Thought about that?" Steve tried to lighten up the situation, hoping his partner could understand that he was over reacting.

"Please, don't say that last part again." Danny scrunched his face up.

Steve smiled. "Right, sorry."

"You're apology is noted but your acceptance is pending."

The duo eventually reached Five-0 headquarters, not before a bus surrounded by a tonne of kids caught both their attention as they drove by. The bright yellow school bus indicated it was some sort of school trip. The little minion-looking kids stared in awe at the golden statue proudly standing in front of the building of their headquarters, many mimicking its eternal stance. The King Kamehameha was truly quite magnificent when one took a moment to glance at it. Both Steve and Danny watched, looking quite mesmerized.

"So, that's Joshua..." Danny trailed off.

"Joshua? What, he's in that group of kids over there?" Steve quizzed, making the car come to a halt nearby. As the pair climbed out, not once did Danny let his gaze wander off from the group.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, sounding distant as he over-analyzed the huddled group.

"How are you so sure?"

Danny sighed gently, turning to face his partner. "She showed me his, um... Facepage."

"I think you mean Facebook."

"Yeah, okay, Mister Know It All!"

Danny eventually pointed out the tall looking boy from the crowd of kids. From what Steve could tell, he seemed normal, just like any other. Steve also noticed the deadly look his partner was giving the boy. He knew more than anyone else that Danny wanted to protect Grace, especially when it came to boys. The harsh reality was, Grace was growing up, and fast. She was bound to become interested in boys and begin speaking with them. Danny just had to learn how to accept that. Steve's job at the moment, though, was to make sure Danny wouldn't go up to the oblivious kid and scare the life out of him.

Steve placed a friendly hand on Danny's shoulder as they watched the kids be ushered back into the yellow school bus by a young woman. "What did Grace tell you about him?"

Stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets, Danny replied nonchalantly, "Not much, other than he's a 'friend' and that his birthday was tomorrow and she wanted to give him something."

"I can go shopping with her if you want," Steve suggested. "That way, you won't get a heart attack."

"Oh, no, no," Danny pressed as they walked into their team's headquarters. "No need for that, 'Uncle Steve'."

Steve shook his head in amusement at his partner's antics. After all, there really was no changing Danny when it came to Grace.

As they walked into the bullpen, Kono was already present skimming through some folders. Chin was nowhere to be seen, yet. Kono glanced up at them as they entered, noticing Steve's smirk and Danny's rather sour, non-amused expression.

"What's up with you guys?" Kono asked, a smirk also tugging on her lips.

Steve answered with a "Nothing" while Danny answered with an "Everything".

Kono just laughed and continued to skim through the folders she was looking at.

* * *

"Hey, Miss Francis," the burly bus driver called from the front, making her lose count and forget what number she was on. Gently huffing and pushing her clipboard aside, she turned toward him and smiled a rather tight smile, indicating that he continue. "Where to now?"

She thought for a moment, glancing out the window to look at the twenty or so kids laughing and running around in joy as they peered up at the golden statue. "Well, we're going to do a quick stop. We're off to the Kahanamoku Beach, next to the Hilton hotel."

He nodded, offering her a curt nod before starting the engine up. It seemed to have caught the attention of all the kids, because they began to quieten down. Monica quickly scurried out of the bus and stood in front of the group.

"Right!" she called out. "I want all of you to line up at the bus door and walk in one by one while I do another re-count. Please, no pushing or shouting so we can get to the Kahanamoku beach as quick as possible!"

She smiled as the kids surrounding her jumped in excitement, rushing to get into the bus. She struggled to keep that smile once they began pushing past one another. Lovely. She tried counting the number of kids there were and it was proving quite difficult since they looked like ants huddled together. Once everybody was in, and once she had verified the number of kids was correct, she climbed in and took her seat right at the front next to one of the more quieter students.

Their school trip was going to take up the majority of their day, since they were going to visit a few more iconic locations around the island. The trip had been organized by the history teacher herself, so there was no need for a guide when it came to explaining the significance behind certain monuments. Their stop at the beach was going to allow the kids to calm down a bit and have fun without hearing Monica go on and on about a particular location or monument. She grinned at the thought.

"Counted the number of kids. They're all here," she told the bus driver, trying hard to speak over the loud racket in the vehicle. "How long you think you can get us there?" She pressed a finger against one ear, trying her best to block out the sound.

"Twenty minutes, tops. Hold on tight," he said, staring right into her. For some reason, she found it a little uncomfortable, but decided to ignore it once he started driving.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much everyone who reviewed and alerted this story. I do apologize for the long wait, didn't expect that many people to even take a second to read my story! Also edited Chapter 1 since I spotted quite a few mistakes. Hope you enjoy Chapter 2 and that this story does not disappoint.**

* * *

In the friendliest manner that she could, Monica gently nudged the quiet student beside her. The little girl, probably not used to receiving much attention at all, glanced up at her history teacher in awe. Monica had to admit, she was adorable looking and in all honesty, couldn't understand why she was always ignored by her fellow classmates.

"Having fun, huh?" Monica questioned with the warmest smile she could muster without looking overly intimidating.

The mute simply nodded, her pigtails jumping up and down excitedly. But oddly, she didn't even smile herself.

Monica observed her a little longer as the little girl gawked at the surroundings that zoomed past them. "What's been your favourite part of the day so far?"

Her little student seemed puzzled for a brief second. "The statue," was all she mumbled. Hurriedly, her attention was back onto something else other than her history teacher's face.

Monica really tried her best to make little Lea participate in class, to familiarize her with the rest of her classmates, but it always seemed to fail. When Monica was a little girl, she liked being by herself, admittedly, but she'd at the same time crave company, always wondering if there was a problem with her. Was she too weird? A little ugly? She didn't know. So as she sat next to her lonely student, all she could see in front of her was the mini version of herself, practically curled up in a ball. It stung a little.

She herself had once been the shy, vulnerable kid in class... Not that she was ever bullied, but simply ignored. God, she hated reliving those horrible years but it was a part of her, no matter what. Looking back, her father had always shelled her up, constantly reminding her it was "for her own good", though she couldn't quite pinpoint what good exactly. Thankfully, she managed to slowly gain her confidence and couldn't feel any better. As for her father...

But before Monica could even think about anything else, the bus jerked as it drove over a bump. She had been so engrossed in her own thoughts and memories that she hadn't noticed they were completely off course. Instantly, she felt the adrenaline begin to course through her veins and her heart pound violently against her ribcage.

"Um, where exactly are we going? I've never taken this route," Monica stated, trying her best to conceal the nervousness and urgency in her voice. After all, he _was_ the bus driver and supposedly, knew what he was doing and where he was travelling to.

The rugged looking guy simply continued driving, his knuckles white against the wheel. Nothing.

"Excuse me?" Monica repeated with a little more force.

The bus suddenly came to a halt, and everybody was practically thrown in different directions. The tires squealed as it burnt rubber, the pungent odor of it filling the scene. The burly driver, who Monica suddenly recalled as 'Jabba' after a quick introduction beforehand, stood up with all his might as the kids began to yell in panic. Monica, not sure what to do, glued herself to her seat. If anybody had to remain calm, it was her.

"Kids, calm down!" she said, attempting to soothe them. Clearly, it was not working.

"You're all going to follow my rules now —" Jabba soon materialized a small pistol from underneath his shirt, only ensuing even more screams of terror and fear throughout the bus. "— or someone gets killed."

"What are you doing? They're... just kids!" Monica hesitated a little — she didn't exactly want to act overly cocky in front of a guy who had a gun that was most likely loaded. She was confused and couldn't understand what on Earth was going on.

"Enough!" he bellowed, quite literally rocking the bus until everybody sealed their lips. Twenty pairs of innocent, unsettled eyes focused in on the armed perpetrator.

"This bus is heading to the Pearl Harbor where a boat will be waiting for us. No questions asked, no funny business and no disobeying orders," he declared. The next thing Monica knew, the barrel of his pistol made its way towards the center of her forehead. Cocking it, he then said: "You. All phones in a bag, no electronics, or you're the first to blow."

Gulping, she nodded and began to collect any phones, and the kids certainly weren't taking any risks, since all of them handed it straight to her in a heartbeat. When she returned to her seat next to Lea, Monica swore she had never seen as much emotion in that girl's eyes ever before in anybody else. And it gave her the chills.

Jabba snorted like a hog. "You really expect me to believe you don't have a cell, too, sunshine? Bag it, now."

Luckily for her, she had two phones on her: a nice, shiny recent one which her sister Abby had given her on her birthday quite recently, and another she kept simply because it was easier for carrying around with her, since it wasn't shaped like a humongous potato like most new smartphones. She threw her older phone into the bag and watched him chuck it out the nearest window. The bag landed with a crack outside.

"Good girl." He smiled peevishly, his bright yellow teeth not a pleasant sight to see. "Someone is due to arrive any time soon, let's just all be a little patient, shall we?"

When the creep began to stalk towards the back of the bus, Monica took that as her chance to call someone for help using the smartphone she had in her back trouser pocket. Her fingers trembled ridiculously and it was proving far too hard to even press the numbers right. She knew she had a few more seconds since she could hear Jabba spitting out some threats at the kids sitting at the back. But she then realized calling 911 was going to be far to conspicuous. She had to text someone, and quick, but who?

 _'Call for help. Bus heading to Pearl Harbor. Guy's got a gun. Quick.'_ She pressed send just in time and shoved her cell back into her pocket just in time, as Jabba stomped back to the front. He glanced out the window, and so did Monica, only to realize the 'people' he had referred to were arriving. Two younger looking men stepped out of the car and started towards the bus.

She really hoped that Abby hadn't decided to sleep in late that morning.

* * *

It was oddly quiet in Hawaii today, that even Danny commented that to Kono. Since not much was happening back at HQ, the pair decided to grab coffee for the rest of Five—0 in a local coffee shop. Secretly, Danny felt a little unsettled about the whole thing.

"Hey, Kono, have you heard Steve talk about Catherine lately?" Danny asked Kono as he pushed open the glass door for her.

She raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Where did that come from?"

Danny mimicked a fish for a moment. "Well, I just think... Something is on his mind. And he's been acting like he's my therapist or something over my fabulously rocky relationship with Rachel, and I'm pretty sure that means something is up. With Catherine."

"Or maybe Steve is just trying to be a good friend?" Kono countered, ordering coffees and Steve's favourite, malasadas.

"Okay, Kono, could you just answer my initial question, please?"

"Well, no, not that I've heard off. At least not since she left to Nepal," Kono told him, grabbing the greased paper bags and coffees and heading outside, Danny following close behind her. "So, since when did you become Steve's therapist, huh?" she playfully joked.

"Just curious, okay? Since he seems to be acting, I don't know... Unaffected, that's the word. But hey, Steve shows emotion as often as a slab of concrete."

Kono snorted. "Don't let boss hear you say that."

Danny's phone then began to ring. "Steve, did you really need to call? Kono and I are already arriving with the malasa — Wait, what?"

Kono began to listen in, realizing this could possibly be a case. Ah, the thought of a peaceful day went straight out of the window.

"Okay," Danny sighed, hanging up. He massaged his head a little with his hand, clearly feeling agitated. Noticing Kono's quizzical gaze on him, he eventually decided to inform her of the 'good' news. "We've got a case. School bus was hijacked, apparently the body of a bus driver was found in the middle of nowhere. There are kids in that bus. Come on."

"On it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the reviews/alerts once again, I seriously appreciate them since I'm still a little nervous about this story, but I'm enjoying writing it. (: I'm trying my best not to make this go cliché, and there's still a lot to reveal, so please stay tuned and don't be afraid to leave your thoughts down below.**

* * *

"Max, any idea how and when this guy was killed?" Kono inquired as she loomed over Max inspecting the slightly pale looking cadaver. Chin was busy talking to one of the other officers located at the scene to try and find out more information on the now lifeless guy.

"I see you did not bother with any greetings today," Max concluded halfheartedly as he immaculately examined the dead body's bruised neck. After unbuttoning a few of the male's shirt buttons, a deep laceration came into view. A shiny, silver bullet shone through the bloodied wound.

"Sorry, did that offend you?" Kono joked, an innocent smile tugging at her lips.

"Well, I'm not usually offended by such things, since you are definitely a busy person and the scene isn't exactly —"

"Okay, Max." Kono laughed sweetly at his antics. "Found anything?"

He quirked his eyebrow, seeming a little confused. Max still hadn't quite grasped the concept of rhetorical questions. "Well, what I _can_ tell you is that our vic's TOD is almost certainly sometime between 9AM and 10AM."

Kono checked her phone for a second. "Wait, but it's 11AM right now," she realized.

"Precisely, which leads me to conclude that he was killed very recently. The blood is still very much fresh, and whoever did execute this murder wasn't very careful." Max wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, but Kono didn't seem to understand the Medical Examiner's gesture.

Coughing awkwardly, Max then lead her to the baseball bat inconspicuously hidden behind a nearby tree. "I believe this is the murder weapon which was used to brutally murder our vic, and the bullet I found caved into his chest cavity also suggests a gun was used, but it seems to be missing."

Kono nodded, taking all the information in. Chin was quick to show up beside his cousin, and he didn't have the most gleeful expression in the world. In all honesty, who would after seeing the bloodied scene?

"Just spoke to the parents of the little girl who found the guy. She's pretty shaken up. It was supposed to be a normal family trek through the forest and ended up like this," Chin informed sadly.

Once the solemn expressions on all three disappeared, Max crouched down beside the reddened baseball bat to take a closer look.

"Isn't that a trail of blood?" Chin pointed toward the river-like trail of blood starting somewhat near the dead victim and ending just beside their feet.

"Indeed it is, Chin. The trail of blood leading to the baseball bat indicates that the the killer may have also been hurt and possibly, due to his disorientation, left the weapon behind carelessly. There are a number of possibilities, but that seems to be the most plausible."

"Okay, thanks, Max. You should go get that bullet examined, maybe it can tell us something about the gun it was shot from," Kono told Max, who acknowledged her with a silent nod. Turning to her cousin, she then said: "I'm heading back to HQ, I think I can find something about who our vic was and if he may have been dealing with people he shouldn't have."

"I'm coming with you, cuz."

* * *

"Well, this is just great," Danny moaned as he and McGarrett approached the abandoned car on the side of a pretty lonely road. "Who would do this, seriously? They're just kids."

"I don't know, Danny, but whoever did is either deranged or trying to get attention," Steve responded with an undercurrent of anger hidden in his voice.

"Commander," a distinctive voice called from behind the two. Sergeant Duke Lukela stalked towards them, concerned plastered on his face. "Ran the license plate in the system. Apparently, it was stolen, so it could have been taken by anybody. We believe whoever was in the car is now on the bus, too, since there's no sign of them anywhere."

"Okay, thanks, Duke. Guys find anything in the car? Any documents or IDs in the inside?" Steve asked, taking a peek inside the car through the tinted windows.

"No, nothing, it's completely clean."

"Who's that over there?" Danny questioned absently. Though Steve was quietly doing his own inspection of the abandoned car, he curiously looked up to spot a tall, black haired girl with her head in her hands, an officer attempting to calm her down.

"Her?" Duke pointed indiscreetly. "She said her name was Abby Francis. And apparently, her sister is on that bus. As a matter of fact, it was Miss Francis who informed HPD about the incident. Seems like her sister was able to message her without getting caught by the hijackers."

Not even Commander McGarrett could make sense of it all. A bus was currently under the possession of hijackers, kids lives were at risk, and there was absolutely no indication as to who was behind the whole scheme. Steve had to admit, whenever a case involved innocent kids, he felt even more obliged to help, and the same could be said for Danny, since he looked like he had been fuming prior to their arrival at the scene.

While Duke walked off, the pair decided they were going to question Abby, since she seemed to be the one with the most information. Once they were within earshot of the young woman, it was made clear this was no easy situation they were in. "Why is nobody doing anything? My sister and those kids could die!" Abby frantically bellowed at the officer with her, who was unfortunate enough to be witnessing her wrath.

"Hey. Hey!" Danny called out, grabbing the frantic woman's shoulders and pressing tightly in the most comforting way his years as a cop had taught him. Comforting the vics was more of Steve's forte, but he tried nonetheless. "We're going to catch whoever did this. You're sister is going to be fine, okay? And so are the other kids."

Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett simply sent a soft gaze her way, almost to say "she'll be fine", which was what Abby desperately needed at that precise moment. The thought of losing her older sister crippled her to her very core. She really didn't want to remember her sisters last words as being "help".

Abby bit her lip, a nervous tick of hers, before nodding. "I'm sorry... It's just... Sorry."

"It's OK. Abby, right?" Steve said.

"Yeah, Abby Francis," she told them, unaware that the two already knew her name. "They've told me about some... Task force? I'm guessing you're both in it?"

"Yes, indeed, I'm Detective Danny Williams, by the way, this is Commander Steve McGarrett, my partner," Danny introduced, receiving a simple curt smile from the woman. "Duke told us about a message, what exactly did your sister say?"

Abby sighed deeply. "Nothing much. It was short sentences, clearly she was in a hurry, didn't want to get caught... I don't know. She said they're heading to Pearl Harbor."

"Pearl Harbor?" Steve repeated. He'd gone there many times before, in fact, he knew the place very well. It infuriated him a little to think those scumbags behind the hijacking would drag their sorry asses to such an important piece of American History.

"That's what she said." Abby stood still for a moment in thought. All of a sudden, she straightened her back and looked up at both of them. "I want to help. The task force, I mean, at least on this case."

"I'm sorry, Abby, but we can't let you do that," Steve informed her. "You could get hurt and we're not taking that risk."

"What?" Abby knew she was asking too much already, but she wanted to do anything possible to get her sister back alive and well. She wasn't going to lose her again.

"Look, it's not going to be safe for you." Steve stepped forward to stand closer to the other two, shooting a glance Danny's way. "Me and Detective Williams will ensure whoever did this rots behind bars, you hear me, Abby?"

A curt silence later, the black haired woman sighed, pursed her lips and then said, "Yes." Both McGarrett and Danny seemed much more relieved, if the glances they shared were anything to go by.

"But I'm coming. I'm sorry, commander, —" Abby made sure to look him right in the eye, then, she proceeded to give the stoniest look to Danny Williams. "— Detective, but there's no way I'm going to sit back and do nothing. You don't understand: I was in Brooklyn for years, never came to visit her in Hawaii. Only recently could we even look at each other without a fight blowing off. I'm not going to let her down anymore, I'm not going to let it happen. I can help you guys, and if there's something I'm good at it, it's shooting. Dad taught me... When I was younger."

When Danny noticed Steve's aneurysm face, he knew it meant his partner was considering taking her along. Danny had always considered himself the more rational one, and he was quick to intervene before any words were even spoken. "Woah, woah, woah, okay, I think you're going a little too far there," Danny told her.

Steve was quiet for a moment, staring into Abby's distraught eyes. He completely ignored his partner's intervention. "You're not going to take no for an answer?"

She shook her head adamantly.

Steve genuinely was reconsidering, but his mind was set once he saw the urgency and pain beneath her brown eyes. "Tell us everything you know. Officer Kono Kalakaua just texted to say she's got something on our vic."

While Steve and Abby walked off towards Danny's car, Danny was left perplexed, frozen in the same spot. "Oh, okay, Steve, I see discussing important issues with your partner involving our case clearly did not cross your mind! No offense, Abby, this has nothing to do with you but more to do with my slightly delusional partner here," Danny complained as he tried catching up to the other two.

"Uh, no worries," she muttered. "I'd rather you guys resolve your... Marital issues now rather than later. I'll wait in the car."

"Danny, what is it now?" Steve let his hands fall to his hips.

"Really? Allowing a civilian — the vic's sister, to be precise — to get involved in the case? Are you nuts!?"

"Look, I didn't have much of a choice here, Danny. She was insisting and I had a feeling if I didn't say yes, she'd go off on her own and try and save her sister herself, or do you want people to get hurt? Is that what you want?"

"Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams, I believe Officer Kono Kalakaua is waiting for us?" Abby intervened.

"How did you ever become a cop, huh, Steve? Because it beats me," Danny fumed, while Steve smirked.

* * *

 **I really do apologize if this seems to be droning on and on but it's important for the story and I'm not a fan of fast paced story telling. Hope you still enjoyed the chapter anyway.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you once again for the alerts and I would like to thank Aquababy for the review... I appreciate it a whole lot. By the way, if anybody has any queries or anything they'd like to see happen in this story, do let me know! I'm all up for suggestions.**

 **Also, I'm totally aware these recent chapters are very procedural, and I do apologize! The drama and mystery really starts to unfold in Chapter 5.**

* * *

After Abby had been given the 'guest' lanyard and taken up to the Five-0's headquarters, she was introduced to a large, open space, not exactly the most modern décor she had seen, but it was certainly spacious. The walls were licked with a grey paint tinged with a little blue — not exactly a very uplifting color, Abby thought —, the windows and doors edged with shiny mahogany. There were offices in each corner by the looks of it, and since the blinds were all open, she could visualize the interior very clearly of each one.

She had briefly heard about the Five-0 come up before in conversation. Abby had only been in Hawaii for the past three months or so, and she'd decided it was a permanent move. The sole reason why Abby had moved in the first place was purely to strengthen the once unbreakable bond she had once had with her sister, Monica. Over the years, and due to the terrible long distance, it was like they became strangers. And not only that, but family issues pressurized the both even more. Brooklyn just no longer made her happy, too, and since Hawaii was known to be the paradise island, The Gem of the Pacific, she'd made the drastic decision to just get up and move. And, since she was a bartender, finding a job was the least of her concern. So far, she was loving it.

Except now her sister was in grave danger, and the only thing concerning her now was not having to call a funeral director to arrange her sister's final goodbye. The thought sent shivers down her spine.

Abby was introduced to the officer that Steve had mentioned earlier, Kono, a beautiful young woman with chocolate brown hair that sat neatly on her shoulders. There was something about her, an aura of innocence that almost radiated off of her. Then, Abby was introduced to Kono's cousin, Chin Ho Kelly, a slightly taller and wiser looking man with an exquisitely chiseled square jaw, his jet-black hair primly slicked back. He and Steve were definitely the most able-bodied looking, since their biceps peeked just slightly from underneath their t-shirts.

After the introductions, the team didn't waste another second and reunited at a large computer table centered slap bang in the middle of the room.

"So, our vics name is Ian Yahoa. 37 year old bus driver, had been for many years. No family or relatives," Kono began, readily flicking images and scanned documents onto another screen just above.

"Guy got a criminal record?" Chin pondered, his arms crossed tightly.

"Surprisingly, yes. When he was 16, he was arrested for minor theft at a supermarket. He only served 1 month and did two weeks worth of community service."

"Max find anything on the body?" Steve then piped in.

"Yes; Max found a silver bullet caved into the guys chest. When it was taken for further analysis, an inscription was found on it." Once again, an image slid onto the large LCD screen, this time of the silver bullet, its head crippled and tarnished but the engraving clear as day. Everybody curiously leaned in closer.

"Yu-Tsai," Steve observed. The words meant nothing at all to Abby. " I know these guys." Steve sounded awfully distant, as if recalling past memories or previousencounters with these 'Yu-Tsai' folks.

After taking a sharp breath, Kono once again bombarded the screen with pictures, documents and crime scene photos. "It's the name of an infamous local gang. About 6 years ago, its leader, George Saventown, was imprisoned for the possession of drugs. He was released a month ago."

"Max was also able to find a baseball bat sitting behind a tree near the crime scene. There was a blood trail leading to it, which Max suggested belonged to one of the killers," Chin added. Abby could barely stay focused as the thought of those scumbags hurting her youngest sister flashed through her mind.

"Yeah, and when the blood from the scene was taken to be tested in the lab, Eric was able to match it to two different people." Kono flicked the image of Ian Yahoa upward towards the screen, and then of a bulky, middle-aged looking Hawaiian. "That guy is called Jabba Kaiiki. 40 years old. No criminal record, up till now."

Everybody remained quiet briefly, soaking up the information they had just been told. "So, they kill a bus driver, maybe to keep him quiet so they can hijack a bus filled with kids. Still doesn't make sense," Danny deduced.

"What if it's the kids they want?" Abby suddenly blurted out.

Kono acknowledged her answer with a glance her way. "Either that, or George is back on the drug scene and is trying to make his comeback big."

"Okay, look..." Abby sighed. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, I'm not a cop, okay?" she put it bluntly, "but my sister said something about heading to Pearl Harbor. Shouldn't we be heading there if we stand a chance of finding anyone alive?"

"It's not that easy. It's not the first and won't be the last time a criminal lies about their whereabouts in order to create a distraction. As of now, we can't trust that information. It could be a trap, and I'm not leading my team into one," Steve proclaimed without missing a beat.

"Then what now?"

Giving every single person a glance, Steve then began to spew orders left, right and center. "Chin, try tracking her sister's phone, maybe we can track the bus then intercept it before it gets to the harbor. Abby, you're going to stay right here, and I'm going to make sure you don't leave the building. Anything from your sister, you inform Chin. Kono, talk to HPD for backup because we won't be able to stop that bus on our own. Me and Danny are going to see if we can find anything at Jabba Kaiiki's that can give us a clue about why they're doing this."

"On it, Boss," Kono uttered.

Abby forced herself not to make a fuss like a little five year old girl.

* * *

"Hey, Steve?"

"Yes, Danny?" Steve answered as he peered through the window of the rather scruffy looking house. The lawn was a complete mess, and the house was hungry for a repaint.

"Catherine said anything since she's left?"

Steve paused and turned to look at his partner. "No." He then returned into 100% cop mode as soon as his back was turned. Nobody seemed to be home, so Steve decided to try the back porch.

Danny followed shortly behind. "Oh, really? What about you?"

Steve stopped suddenly, nearly making Danny crash into his broad back. That would've hurt. "What is this, you're my relationship counselor now?" Steve snapped.

Danny held back the eye rolling as he recalled Kono saying something very similar. " _No_ ," Danny replied calmly. "I just think you're mind has been in space lately, and seeing as I am very good at detecting – exactly why I am _Detective_ Danny Williams —, you, my friend, are a terrible at hiding emotions."

Steve let out a breath, looking over at the sea which was in clear view from the back garden of Jabba Kaiiki's home. "So what if Catherine's gone? It's not like I can do anything about it, okay? She made her choice," Steve bitterly let out. He recalled that somber day before she left: it was that damn phone call that ruined everything for him. Once he realized she was speaking a foreign language to God knows who, his fear had turned very tangible. She was leaving. Again. He was damn sure of it.

Who was Steve kidding? Of course he loved the woman, there was no denying that, otherwise he wouldn't have had a ring stuffed into his cargo pants that day, ready to go on one knee and prove to her, to show her, what she meant to him. Instead, he was left to stare at the back of her car as it drove off into the nothingness. She'd chosen Nepal over him. And he hated all the secrecy... And secrets in general when it came to those closest to his heart.

Steve's heart was torn, churned, diced and then devoured. Although Catherine was his world, it seemed he was merely an island to her. Steve was a rational most of the time (except when it came to interrogations because, and according to his lovely partner, Danny, he was a 'neanderthal'). Never would he let his emotions get to him, because that's how he was taught to function; those years as a Navy SEAL weren't for nothing and had been extremely fruitful. He was made of pure muscle and steel. He could handle it, couldn't he? But on that day he was going to propose to her, he walked home with an empty heart, ran for an hour on the beach, before collapsing on the sand and finally breaking: he was crying over Catherine.

Once the last tear drop had fallen, he'd composed himself, hid the ring right at the bottom of a drawer and told himself he needed to set his priorities straight.

And that's what he had done. It had been approximately 2 months since Steve had seen her and he was slowly but surely gluing all the pieces of his heart back together. He was fine not talking about Catherine, nor actually talking to her — Steve was aware that sounded cold and bitter. However, like he'd said, she'd made her choice. And she'd gone off and left more than once. Steve knew where he stood. He wasn't going to get burnt by the same candle twice.

"Earth to Steve, Earth to Steve, hello?" Danny waved his hand right up in his face. "You okay?"

Steve gently swatted his hand away. "Yeah, I'm fine," he spewed out robotically, typical of Steve when he found himself immersed in his hurtful thoughts. "Can we get into the house now or do you have any more questions? Just wondering when the next session is going to be, Doctor Williams."

"You're very funny, Steve," Danny retorted sourly. "After you, babe."

Once the door had been practically broken off its hinges — making Danny wince —, both separated to check each room.

"Clear!" Steve yelled from one corner of the house.

"Clear!" Danny repeated from the other.

When Steve approached the kitchen table, that's when he noticed the gargantuan pile of papers. Sitting right in the middle was a map, a few locations circled in red Sharpie, others with an obnoxious X. Pearl Harbor, however, was immensely scribbled. Were they really heading there?

He began going through the papers, and at first, came across rather normal looking things: bills, letters, etc. However, when he searched a little deeper, he came across the photos. Staring back at him with empty eyes were kids tied up, pure fear in their small little eyes, streaks of tears all over their reddened cheeks. The more he dug through, the more kids that showed up. Every time got to the next, his heart wrenched a little more, and then a little more, until he could no longer take it. What the heck were these son's of a bitches doing with these kids?

Maybe Abby's assumption had been right all along. _It's the kids they want._

"Hey, the bedrooms are clear and — what's that?" When Danny came across a rather grief-stricken Steve hunched over the kitchen table, he himself became curious and wandered over to the piles of paper.

"They're just kids," Steve barely mumbled, more to himself than to anybody.

When Danny leaned in to inspect the images, he too began to witness himself the turmoil of emotions. These were kids, innocent, filled with life. They'd barely tasted what life was. And now there they were, tied up, and only God knows if they were still alive or not. This could have been Grace. His Gracie. The mere thought angered him.

The deafening silence that fell upon on them was broken when Danny's phone rang. Steve remained motionless as he continued to stare emptily at the photos.

"Chin, got anything?"

" _Yeah, thankfully_ ," Chin said. " _I managed to locate the bus and as long as the phone remains turned on, we can keep the signal running. Looks like they're going through the mountains in order not to get caught. They're still awhile away from the harbor. What about you guys?_ "

"Uh, yeah, about that..." Danny quickly glanced over at Steve. Sighing, he proceeded to say: "Found a bunch of... Photos. Kids tied up, I don't what this is, but I'm pretty sure the reason they took that bus wasn't to go on a delightful school trip. This could be some human trafficking ring."

" _Oh, God_ ," Chin breathed on the other end.

With a simple hand gesture, Steve signaled Danny to pass the phone. Almost aggressively, he grabbed the cell. "Hey, Chin, it's Steve. Look, we need to stop that bus before it gets to the harbor, _now_. Has Kono spoken to HPD?"

" _Yep, they're ready._ "

"Okay. Get everyone ready. You and Kono follow the signal, tell HPD to form road blocks wherever there's an exit or entrance, wherever. Make sure Abby doesn't go anywhere with you guys."

" _Got it, Steve. I'll send you the map alongside the signal so you'll know where they are. Meet you there_ ," Chin announced.

"Thanks, Chin."

* * *

"Where do _you_ think you're going, sunshine?" the tallest one spat.

If there was one word Monica despised more than any other at that moment of time, it would have definitely been 'sunshine'. The other two men that stepped onto the bus were just as idiotic as Jabba, who was now driving the bus supposedly to the Harbor. One of them presented themselves as the 'boss' now, informing everyone present that they had to follow his rules to a T. The other remained dreadfully quiet and he gave the impression that he was some sort of bodyguard. The bus was covering mountainous ground, and she was growing concerned that they were taking them somewhere far worse.

The two much more finer looking gentleman stalked back and forth the entire bus. When Monica decided to stand up to check on the other kids, the 'boss' stepped right into her bubble called 'comfort zone'. He reeked of manly colognes and aftershave.

"I'm checking on the kids," Monica intoned. By now, the majority of the boys and girls remained terrifyingly quiet, clinging onto each other for dear life. Even little Lea had clung onto her arm like it were going to miraculously save her by doing so. Monica was seriously considering this as her last day alive.

"No worries, we can do that for you," the fool replied, obnoxiously chewing his gum like a cow munching hungrily on grass. It infuriated her. She found herself wondering if Abby had received her text, and was desperate to check if she had replied again. She had managed to get in another text a few minutes ago while all their backs were turned.

"At least tell us whats waiting for us at the harbor," Monica pleaded.

The man snorted like she'd just said a joke. "You don't need to know."

Turning away from him, two broad arms came lunging at her from behind. A cold hand slid into her trouser pocket and removed the phone that she had been attempting to hide.

"What's this?" the guy snickered proudly like he'd found a nugget of gold. "Abby? ' _Help, oh, help me_ '," he mimicked like the brute he was.

Monica's eyes gaped as she stared at her phone sit in his hands. She was screwed. Dead for sure, she concluded.

"I wonder what she's got to say." The ugliest smile spread across his face as the phone began to ring.

"Monica? _Monica?_ "

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter. May I also note that Catherine, as you can tell, will not be ignored or cease to exist in this story. She will affect the story line both positively and negatively in later chapters as the relationship between Monica and Steve unfold, and after all, Steve is/was in love with her. Though I'm not a huge fan of her (mostly because I wish McGarrett was in love with me!), I feel like Catherine's character doesn't deserve to be neglected. Anyway, don't forget to leave me your thoughts. (No flames, though! Constructive criticism only, please). (:**


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